Red arrows crash 20/08/11

[P-51]

Originally Posted by 617Squadron

There are comments in today's press that bird remains were found amongst the wreckage of Red 4, hinting that a birdstrike may have been a likely cause.

A birdstrike would almost certainly have caused a flameout and John would have had no chance to recover. His final act of protecting others as the plane fell was an outstanding act of airmanship.

No I'm no expert, you can trust me on that, but my Dad (with 26years as an RAF firefighter and having worked on the Red Hawks) says that there shouldn't be any remains left - it would have destroyed the engine but ejected it's self - unless it was a HUGE bird. It's also got high enough engine temps to keep the smoke flowing - I doubt it was a bird hit..

Although, I did see this earlier: